ZAKEE MURPHY OF GARFIELD, NEW JERSEY CHARGED WITH DISTRIBUTION OF HEROIN

TO: ALL NEWS MEDIA

FROM: PROSECUTOR GURBIR S. GREWAL

DATE: OCTOBER 18, 2017

Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced the arrest of ZAKEE R. MURPHY (DOB: 8/12/1990, single; and unemployed) of 170 Cambridge Avenue, Apt. 2, Garfield, New Jersey on charges of narcotics distribution. The arrest is the result of a joint investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti, the Hackensack Police Department under the direction of Officer in Charge Captain Frank Aquila, the Dumont Police Department under the direction of Chief Michael J. Conner, and the Garfield Police Department under the direction of Chief Raymond Kovach.

In July 2017, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office received information that Zakee Murphy was involved in the distribution of Controlled Dangerous Substances, namely Heroin. As a result of the information received, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force, the Dumont Police Department, the Hackensack Police Department, and the Garfield Police Department initiated a narcotics investigation. During the months of July 2017 and August 2017, a detective from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, who was acting in an undercover capacity, purchased heroin from Murphy on several occasions. These narcotics transactions occurred in Garfield and Hackensack.

As a result of the investigation, ZAKEE MURPHY was arrested on October 17, 2017 in Garfield, New Jersey. He was found to be in possession of approximately fifty bags of heroin on his person. A subsequent search of his residence resulted in the seizure of an additional forty bags of heroin, one ounce of marijuana, seventeen Xanax pills in an unlabeled prescription bottle, drug paraphernalia associated with the distribution of narcotics, and $2,700.00 in U.S. currency.

MURPHY was charged with two counts of Distribution of Heroin, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5B(3), a 3rd degree crime; two counts of Possession with the Intent to Distribute Heroin, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5B(3), a 3rd degree crime; one count of Possession of Xanax, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10A(1), a 3rd degree crime; one count of Distribution of Heroin within 500 feet of a public park, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1A, a 2nd degree crime; and one count of Possession of Marijuana Under 50 Grams, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10A(4), a Disorderly Person’s Offense. MURPHY is scheduled to appear in Bergen County Central Judicial Processing Court for a first appearance on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 8:30 AM.

Prosecutor Grewal states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and would also like to thank the Garfield Police Department, the Hackensack Police Department, and the Dumont Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.